Exodus 30

1. “And you shall make an altar to burn incense upon. You shall make it of acacia wood.

2. A cubit shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth. It shall be square. And two cubits shall be the height of it, its horns shall be from itself.

3. And you shall overlay it with pure gold, its top, and its sides all around, and its horns. And you shall make for it a crown molding of gold all around the top edges.

4. And you shall make two golden rings for it below the crown of it, by the two opposing corners of it; upon the two sides of it you shall make it. And they shall be housings for the staves to carry it with.

5. And you shall make the staves of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.

6. And you shall put it before the veil that is by the ark of the testimony, in front of the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with you.

7. And Aaron shall burn sweet incense on it every sunrise; when he dresses the lamps, he shall burn it.

8. And when Aaron lights the lamps between the two evenings, between sunset and dark he shall burn it for a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations.

9. You shall offer no strange incense on it, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meal offering. Neither shall you pour drink offering on it.

10. And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year with the blood of the sin offerings of atonement. He shall make atonement on it once in the year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the LORD.”

11. And the LORD spoke to Moses saying,

12. “When you count the children of Israel, of those who are to be counted, then they shall each man give a ransom for himself to the LORD when you number them, so that there may be no plague among them when you number them.

13. They shall give this, every one that passes among those who are counted, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary (a shekel is twenty gerahs); a half shekel shall be the offering of the LORD.

14. Everyone that passes among those who are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering to the LORD.

15. The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel when they give an offering to the LORD to make an atonement for yourselves.

16. And you shall take the atonement silver of the children of Israel and shall appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, so that it may be a memorial to the children of Israel before the LORD to make an atonement for yourselves.”

17. And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

18. “You shall also make a laver of bronze, and its base also of bronze, for washing. And you shall put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar. And you shall put water in it,

19. For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet there.

20. When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water so that they do not die. Or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to the LORD,

21. They shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they do not die. And it shall be a statute forever to them, to him and to his seed throughout their generations.”

22. And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

23. “Take also to you the finest spices: five hundred shekels of pure myrrh, and half as much of sweet cinnamon, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and two hundred and fifty shekels of aromatic cane,

24. And five hundred of cassia, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil.

25. And you shall make of these an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the perfumer. It shall be a holy anointing oil.

26. And you shall anoint the tabernacle of the congregation with it, and the ark of the testimony,

27. And the table and all its vessels, and the lampstand and its vessels, and the altar of incense,

28. And the altar of burnt offerings with all its vessels, and the laver and its base.

29. And you shall sanctify them so that they may be most holy. Whatever touches them shall be holy.

30. And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them, so that they may minister to Me in the priest’s office.

31. And you shall speak to the children of Israel saying, ‘This shall be a holy anointing oil to Me throughout your generations.

32. It shall not be poured upon man’s flesh, neither shall you make any other like it, according to the way it is made. It is holy, and it shall be holy to you.

33. Whoever compounds any like it, or whoever puts any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people.’ ”

34. And the LORD said to Moses, “Take to yourself sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; sweet spices with pure frankincense, a part of each one.

35. And you shall make it a perfume, an incense according to the art of the perfumer, salted, pure and holy.

36. And you shall beat some of it very small, and put it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you.

37. And the perfume which you shall make, you shall not make any for yourselves according to the way it is made. It shall be holy to you for the LORD.

38. Whoever shall make any like that, to smell of it, shall even be cut off from his people.”